Controlling overconsumption

I used to be 250lbs. I dropped down to 180 with calorie restriction/heavy cardio. Then I backslid up to 195, then went primal when I found MDA. Bow I'm a solid 172-175, losing body fat steadily. My problem, however, are hunger and over consumption. Having been so overweight, my hunger signals are all kinds of messed up. I can hardly ever tell when I'm hungry, nor am I usually hungry when I eat my meals. Even when I fasted for over 24 hours on two different occasions, I didn't feel any sort of hunger. Secondly, fullness. Similarly, I can never tell when I'm full unless its of the absolutely stuffed variety. Third, everyone has that one food they could just eat and eat because they love it so much. For me, it's nuts. Any kind except peanuts I could chow on all day. It's almost like a compulsion. I do it with veggies sometimes too. Not the worst thing I could overeat, but it slows my fat loss down. If anyone has any advice on resetting hunger/fullness signals, and controlling overconsumption of certain foods, it would be a great help.

Well you said that you fasted twice for over 24 hours and didn't feel hungry - that is a good thing and semi normal once your blood sugar normalizes and you are used to burning fat. I think doing some IF will help you learn more about your hunger cues. I do the 16/8 method almost every day. It has definitely taught me about hunger and what it really is (even though I don't get too hungry usually when I do it). I more get a weak feeling rather than the ravenous feeling I got in my pre-primal high-carb days. I think your hunger will normalize over time. Try to stop eating when you just feel satisfied. If your hunger returns shortly after, go ahead and eat more. For me, there was a psychological hurdle there, because I used to feel hungry a LOT even though I wasn't super overweight. I would sometimes stop eating because I was just tired of it and it seemed like I never got full. So it was hard at first to limit my eating. But it was almost purely psychological. Eating low-carb primal style made it very easy and I learned what my actual needs and limits were.

Fasting is a great way to regulate consumption. Mark has always said that you should more count calories weekly as opposed to daily. This allows for 24-48 hour fasts which you can then break with a REALLY large meal that you enjoy thoroughly but it doesn't sabatage your fat loss.

This is not a license to have a ton of cheat days though. This meal should still be completely primal and healthy. But you can focus less on the amount of calories in the meal. You will also find, I think, that as you go lower and lower on the carb spectrum, your blood sugar regulates itself better and better and you will be hungry less and less, and therefore eat lower total caloric levels (as measured over the week rather than necessarily at one sitting).

You might find your individual meals are getting larger, but your frequency of being hungry is less, and therefore total calories are down overall. That was my general n=1 at least.

I just fasted 72 hours, and almost never felt hungry the whole time. I'm stuffed now, full to the brim with a good Primal meal.

My best advice, when it comes to the empty/full feeling... high volume, low calorie filler. That doesn't have to be crap food either, just very high in water content. Stuff like cucumber, watermelon, even lettuce and celery. They're a great way to throw in a bit of a buffer so you don't eat a TON of calories, but you still get that really full feeling.

I'm not entirely sure what the "problem" is, and I'm aware that my suggestion merely treats the symptom, but it's a decent hack until you can figure out how to solve the problem.

The other thing that you way want to think about is the speed at which you eat your meals.

I find myself shovelling in the food at the moment - partly I think because that eating primal is so darn tasty I can't help myself but eat fast. Which as we all know is a super bad thing to do! I also notice that link between feeling full and the speed I eat at. So something you might consider is looking at the speed you are eating your meals.

I have similiar problems but I am sure mine are more psychological than physiological. I just have learned better portion control and not eat everytime I feel like it because I know it is not true hunger.

I think give it more time, and eat slowly like you said. I have now, after getting on for 11 months primal, got used to understanding 'satisified' as in I have eaten enough good fatty protien rich food with loads of veg to meet my needs, and 'Full' as in my food bag is full. I am a big eater and always have been - eat when hungry, till satisifed only works if you work this way.

Try more IF, try WHEN - When hunger ensues naturally - eat when hungry, when-ever you are hungry - but only when you are sure you are really hungry, if a mug of fruit tea, or black coffee, glass of water or brushing your teeth still leaves you hungry, then give it 20 mins, then if you are chewing your arm - go get a steak. This should hekp you understand what real hunger feels like and break the 'meal time must eat' mind set.

If you are a 3 meals a day kinda person try skipping a differnt meal on different days - see how that makes you feel - that should give you more info on how you work too, for example - I have learned I don't need breakfast and rarely eat before midday now.

You know all those pictures of Adam and Eve where they have belly button? Think about it..................... take as long as you need........................